Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Garbanzo Bean Croutons

Hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mothers Day yesterday. I know I did. The boys and I had breakfast with my mom and dad and then spent the rest of the morning at the park with friends. I got my garden ready for planting and ordered some speciality hybrid seeds from a family owned organic farm in Colorado that specializes in high altitude vegetable seeds. I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather for spending the day outdoors soaking up the sun and some much needed vitamin D. I played tennis in the late afternoon and then I went to the Park City Film Series screening of Romantics Anonymous, a french film about two very awkward but talented chocolate makers. If you like quirky love stories, I highly suggest it! Over all it was a great day and just what this mountain mama needed!

The only downfall to my day was the rather large mug of steamy hot tea that was accidentally knocked over directly onto my lap top. I blew it off initially as I was determined not to let it ruin my day. In fact I didn’t think about it much yesterday as I focused on my boys and my own mama. But as I lay in bed last night thinking of all the work I have saved on my hard drive, I slowly started to make myself sick. It’s a lot of work that will be lost and I have a ton of pictures that I’d hate to lose too. I have an appointment at the Mac store later today so I’m crossing my fingers they can fix it. Or at the very least retrieve all the photos and work I did last week.
No, I didn’t back it up.
Yes, I’ve learned my lesson.

Always looking for the silver lining, at least I’d already uploaded the pictures for this post so I could share it today. I now have a few days to either get my computer fixed or buy a new one and re-do all the photos and recipe I did last week. I’m hoping for the first. Plus a visit to the Mac store means I also get to visit Anthropologie and Albion Fit. It’s just bonus that two of my favorite stores happen to be in the same complex as the Apple store. See, things are looking up already!

Let’s move on to happier things, shall we? This salad is a must make! If you’re as obsessed with kale and kale salads as much as I am, you’re going to love it. I could start a blog entirely dedicated to kale salad recipes- I have more recipes with kale on my blog than anything else. It’s with complete honesty when I tell you I really love kale. I love it raw in a salad or slaw just as much as I love it steamed or thrown into a pot of soup. All the health benefits are pure bonus. This is my fun twist on a classic Caesar substituting the crispy romaine for dark leafy kale and instead of bread croutons, I roasted chickpeas for the crunch. It’s dressed with an anchovy free dressing and lots of freshly grated parmesan.

As the weather gets warmer, I find myself wanting to eat a little lighter. Maybe because I know I’m going to start wearing a swimsuit soon but either way salads start making regular appearances on our table posing as dinner. Like most kale salads, this one can stand up to being dressing hours before and even the day before. I don’t generally eat leftover dressed salads but this one I will. With that being said, don’t toss the garbanzo beans in until just before you’re ready to eat as they’ll get soggy.

Love this! How simple, nutritious and perfectly easy! Your chickpea instead of crouton idea is smart! We’re going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you made it, and your lovely photography. If you wish, come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on super healthy greens like kale, chard, beet, mustard, turnip, collard, escarole, dandelion and other green leafies. https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens

I just made this dressing on a whim– my usual caesar dressing calls for a hard boiled egg and I was feeling lazy– and I remembered seeing a Kale Caesar Salad in my Blogher sidebar ad this morning; anway, IT IS AWESOME. Sooooooo good! Love it love it love it! Thanks so much for such a super recipe!

That looks delicious! I’m a greens girls all the way. I just always to find a new way to prepare any kind of greens! You’ve got some good looking flatware – if you don’t mind, who is it made by? I am registering for my wedding and finding classic, but stylish flatware is next to impossible!! Thanks!! 🙂

WOW! I made this salad for lunch and it is the bomb! Most def my new favorite salad!! It was really easy to fix too. I was wondering, do you prepare the chick peas in larger batches and save them? If so, how long will they keep? I always have a hard time giving up croutons on a salad, but theses little babies will make it a breeze! They were delish!

Yeah!!! So glad you liked it- it’s one of my favorites! I’ve never made the chickpeas in advance so I’m not sure—- my guess it they’d be ok but I wouldn’t store them in anything with a tight fitting lid in fear they’d get soggy.

I made this salad for a dinner party. We served it with a roast pork tenderloin and butternut squash gratin.The salad was such a hit that our guests asked for seconds, and I had thirds. I was even excited to eat the leftovers, and that is rare for me, when it comes to salads. I’ve shared this recipe with everyone. Thank you.

I pinned this, thought about it a minute and remembered I don’t eat bread or dairy. Usually there’s something aside from parm cheese. Looking forward to making this, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a caesar salad.

When I stumbled across this recipe, I knew I was going to try it immediately. I proceeded to eat it for days! It was fantastic 🙂 I did switch some things up, making the dressing vegetarian by subbing in soy sauce for the Worcestershire. The chickpeas were mixed with additional herbs and spices to make them more “crouton-like.” Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!